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Stand back! I’m about to try research!

Research is a funny thing. Most of the time, it’s an agonizing process. Stupid, boring, fact-finding missions that don’t always turn up exactly what I am looking for.

Most of the time I hate research. I really do. I just want to write. And whether I am writing for a book, a script, a short story or anything else, the LAST thing I want to do is stop and research silly facts that are getting in the way of my story. And yet:

Sabrina reached for her holster and pulled her… her… gun.

Gun? I don’t think there’s another word out there that sucks the emphasis out of a weapon like gun. So you can’t just say gun when you mean something specific. And so you have to research so you know what you are describing and what your characters are hefting.

So I end up doing the one thing I hate, because it gives me better insight into the writing, and certainly the characters.

What I DO love is hindsight.

It’s fun to look back and take your research for face value… I can only imagine what sort of profile the government might be building on me from my Google searches.

– Preferred guns for concealed carry

– Preferred guns for security personnel

– Images, jumping spider

– Anatomy, jumping spider

– Anatomy, flashlight

– Israeli martial arts

– Telekinesis

…you can see the direction this is all heading. Or, you can’t. Either way, it’s adding up to a pattern that – to me – paints the portrait of a man who is building an army of super soldiers bent on taking over the world with telekinetic control over jumping spiders.